News

At its Monday, January 22, meeting, the Township Council passed several resolutions and introduced three ordinances, including two for overlay districts that would pave the way for 280 housing units to be built in town.

At the start of the meeting, the Council also acknowledged Muslim Heritage Month and the Livingston League ofWomen Voters with proclamations. Resident Josh Commer also shared information about a recent trip to Israel he took with his son, Adam, details of which may be seen in a separate article in this edition of the Tribune.

Housing Ordinances Introduced

An ordinance was introduced to adopt the 170-106.2 RIAO-2 Residential Inclusionary Adult Overlay District. The 3.23 acre district is located at the comer of West Mt. Pleasant Avenue and Miracle Way (block 101, lot 2).

Nilay Shriram of Livingston Boy Scout Troop 12 became an Eagle Scout during a Court of Honor ceremony on Saturday, January 6. The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank that the Boys Scouts of America offers.

During his ceremony, Mayor A1 Anthony congratulated Shriram on his Eagle Project, which benefits St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter. Anthony stated that Shriram’s project personally touched him, as he is the liaison to the Livingston Council’s Animal Shelters, and his father had owned a pet store for over 37 years.

Shriram began his scouting career during second grade, at eight years old. He joined as a Wolf Scout in Pack 16. Over his elementary school years, he gained different Cub Scout skills; collecting various belt loops; participating in the exciting pinewood derby; and going to Taconic every December.

SOUTH LIVINGSTON AVENUE CLOSED: At 12:46 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, Livingston Police officers responded to the area of South Livingston Avenue in front of St. Philomena’s Church on a report of a one-car motor vehicle crash. Officers arrived and found that a 2014 Honda Odyssey had traveled off the roadway and a utility pole had been snapped and was lying on top of the car. The driver of the Honda a 53-year-old Livingston woman - had exited the vehicle by the time police officers had arrived. She told officers that she lost control of the vehicle while driving on South Livingston Avenue, due to the ice and snow covered roadway. The vehicle then left the roadway and struck the utility pole. The driver was uninjured. The roadway was closed between Town Hall and Bennington Road for much of Tuesday, as PSE&G and Verizon crews worked to repair the pole. MI Photo

On December 16, Livingston High School’s “A” Academic Team competed at the annual Garden State Cup championships. Having won last year’s edition, the team defended its title this school year in a field of a record 66 teams from the greater NJ/ NY/CT/DE metropolitan area.

The LHS “A” team is now currently ranked #6 in the nation and #1 in the Northeast (the “B” team is ranked #101).

“This represents our highest National ranking in my 25 years as coach,” said LHS Academic Team coach, Guy Rabner.

“A” Team Captain Robert Wang (junior), Sophia Wu (senior), Kevin Zhang (junior) and Lelun Li (junior) went undefeated, 10-0, on the day. Livingston defeated Hunter College High School’s “A” Team in the final by an impressive score of 570-165, dominating the match from the start. This marked Livingston’s second consecutive finals victory over Hunter College High School, having defeated them in the Princeton University finals in September.

A Newark teenager is facing charges stemming from a burglary that occurred in town last summer, Livingston Police said.

At 2:09 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, officers responded to a Melrose Drive home on a report of an active burglar alarm. Upon arrival, responding officers observed screen damage to a first floor bathroom window, and the window was open.

Officers then entered the home, which was unoccupied. They next discovered that two motor vehicles had been stolen from the residence, a 2022 gray BMW M3 and a 2020 black Range Rover. Since the date of the incident, the Range Rover has been recovered in Newark.

During the conference meeting of the Township Council on Monday, January 8, resident Saba Khan asked its members to recognize January as Muslim Heritage Month, which the Council agreed to do. New Jersey first established January as Muslim Heritage Month last spring, meaning this is the first month that it is officially recognized statewide.

The Council told Khan that they plan to pass a resolution during the January 22 meeting.

At the end of the conference meeting, other residents came in with concerns regarding the recognition. Specifically, they were worried that the town planned to fly the Palestinian flag in front of Town Hall, which the Council said was not the case.

During its reorganization meeting on Wednesday, January 3, the Livingston Board of Education formally swore in Fang Gong as its newest member, and named Board members Pamela Chirls as president andJenissaAmette as vice president.

Gong Sworn In

At the beginning of the meeting, school business administrator and board secretary, Thomas Lambe, swore in board election winner, Fang Gong, as a Board of Education member.

Gong thanked the Board and residents of Livingston for voting for her during the election,.

“Thank you for your trust,” she said. “Your vote means so much, and that is the motivation that will keep me going. I am committed in leading up to your expectations. Together, I’m sure that we will make a collective, positive impact in this beautiful Livingston community. Thank you for this incredible opportunity.”

President, Vice President Named Board member Seth Cohen nominated Pamela Chirls as president.

The Livingston Detective Bureau is investigating two unlocked vehicle burglaries that occurred in town last week.

At 7:17 p.m. on Wednesday, January 3, officers responded to a Devonshire Road home on a report of two vehicles that had been entered in the early morning hours.

Officers arrived and met with the homeowner, who said that after reviewing his surveillance video, he noticed several suspects enter his two unlocked pickup trucks parked in his driveway. Nothing was reported missing at the time and the Detective Bureau is investigating the matter.

The township’s recycling calendar has been published in this week’s issue of the West Essex Tribune, on pages B-3 and B-4.

The calendar page also includes several 2024 Livingston Curbside Residential Recycling reminders, including the 2024 curbside residential recycling schedule, the 2024 metal recycling, bulk garbage and holiday schedules.

For more information on recycling, go to livingstonnj. org/Recy cling.

Jocelyn Rebecca Brandes, reported at press time to be Livingston’s first baby of 2023, has been named the winner of the

annual First Baby Contest. The little girl was bom - seven pounds, nine ounces - on January 1 at 4:09 p.m Central Time (5:09 p.m. Eastern Time). She was bom in Northwest Health - Porter hospital in Indiana, through surrogacy. As the first baby bom at her hospital in the New Year, she was also celebrated with gifts and a feature on the Northwest Health Facebook page.

Her parents are Karen and Ross Brandes of 29 North Road. Mother Karen is a stay at home mother, and father Ross works as a talent agent.

Karen’s parents, Max and Julie Silbermann, also reside in Livingston. Ross’s parents, Ramona Toyen and Joel Brandes, both live in Westlake, California.